Last week an arrangement between American Express and Twitter was announced which will enable US American Express cardholders to make purchases with hashtags. Initially, customers will be able to buy AmEx gift cards plus products from a small group of companies such as Amazon and Sony. If it proves popular more retailers will add the new purchase method and it will be rolled out in other countries including the UK.
When a consumer wants to make a purchase they send a tweet using a designated hashtag and then wait for confirmation tweet from @AmerSync which will contain a confirmation hashtag. A tweet must then be sent back within 15 minutes with the new hashtag to confirm the purchase.
The system works using American Express CardSync technology which also powers the Foursquare Specials that have been launched in the UK. This allows users to sync their AmEx card to their social network account; in this case Twitter. Although no retailers are currently participating in the UK it is possible to sync your UK card and there are UK Terms and Conditions. So it appears that AmEx are all set to launch offers here soon.
Leslie Berland, American Express’s Senior Vice President of Digital Partnerships and Development, says that “based on the initial success of Amex Sync for offers, we know there is significant power in combining our assets with Twitter’s platform to bring value to Cardmembers and merchants.”